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Chapter 727: Chapter 733: Greed
Of course, these Nascent Soul cultivators from major powers were definitely extraordinary in strength, but they had just fought a grand battle with the demon cultivators. Even if they hadn’t been injured, much of their mana had been depleted, and their strength was weakened as a result.
Moreover, the target Li Zhirui had set his sights on was the group of cultivators from the Wanxiang Sect.
The reason he chose them was simple; their leading Nascent Soul was gravely injured! And this gave Li Zhirui more confidence to take him down.
However, Li Zhirui wasn’t in a hurry to go out, after all, there were still many Divine Transformation cultivators outside.
Fortunately, important people have busy schedules, and they couldn’t possibly stay at the auction site for too long. So he stayed in the space for about a quarter of an hour, estimating that the group of Divine Transformation cultivators had left before he flashed out of the space.
On the vast, empty land, only some lower-ranked cultivators were gathering the corpses and cleaning up the battlefield. With their strength, they couldn’t possibly detect Li Zhirui, so he directly used the Wood Escape Skill and quickly departed right under everyone’s eyes.
"Who’s that?"
Not far from the auction site, a Divine Transformation cultivator who had stayed behind to oversee suddenly looked up in the direction Li Zhirui had escaped.
For some reason—perhaps out of laziness or some other motive—he merely glanced once and withdrew his gaze, without any intention of pursuing.
Meanwhile, Li Zhirui, who was escaping with all his might, had no idea he had inadvertently avoided a disaster.
At the moment when Li Zhirui was tracking the traces of the Wanxiang Sect cultivators, they were also hurrying along frantically.
"Don’t fly directly towards the sect gates. Take a detour from the south side! Also, take down the sect’s insignia hanging on the Spirit Boat! Fly at full speed towards the sect gates!" The orders were issued not by the leading Nascent Soul Elder of the Wanxiang Sect, but by a Golden Core Late Stage True Disciple named Wang Banxia.
The cultivators on board the Spirit Boat also understood the urgency of their situation. Everyone was on high alert and acted according to the instructions. 𝑛𝘰𝘷𝑝𝘶𝑏.𝑐𝘰𝘮
The control platform was stuffed with Spirit Stones, and several Golden Core cultivators stood by to ensure they could take the helm at a moment’s notice.
With everyone working together, the speed of the Spirit Boat was pushed to the limit, shooting through the sky like a meteor, disappearing into the distance in the blink of an eye.
Despite encountering no cultivators attempting highway robbery so far, Wang Banxia’s tension didn’t ease in the slightest!
When they left Xuanfa State, many cultivators had cast greedy looks at them. Under such a huge temptation, there would definitely be cultivators willing to take the risk and ambush them!
Everyone had come for the auction, and the Wanxiang Sect was a top-tier power in the eastern domain, wealthy and bringing substantial riches with them.
That alone was enough to stir up wicked thoughts, not to mention the leading Nascent Soul was severely injured, which was like pouring oil on the fire, further inciting the greed of those cultivators.
"I wonder how serious Elder Yuanzhong’s injuries are," Wang Banxia murmured softly, feeling a hint of unease, as though something was about to go wrong, even though they hadn’t seen any cultivators catching up to them yet.
After all, there are many wonders under the heavens!
Even though he’d used every method he could think of to avoid leaving a trail, who’s to say those cultivators didn’t have some secret tracking technique he was unaware of?
And Wang Banxia’s feeling wasn’t wrong. At that moment, cultivators from two powers confirmed their location!
This result was already very good, as it had at least stopped other powers in their tracks.
"Catch up!" The leading Nascent Souls from both parties made the decision simultaneously.
"Uncle-Master, what do we do if they manage to escape? Or if the Wanxiang Sect’s Life Token manages to record the abilities of those around them right before death?"
"What’s there to fear? Haven’t we all disguised ourselves? Who knows our true identities? Besides, they aren’t dying by our hands."
This Life Token was indeed a threat, but there were ways to circumvent it, such as not killing the person outright but crippling them and leaving them to die slowly, or employing a proxy for the assassination.
After all, in the face of immense wealth, even Nascent Soul Cultivators could not maintain their moral integrity.
Speaking of which, those who planned to strike against the disciples from the Wanxiang Sect were from Nascent Soul backgrounds; powers at the level of Divine Transformation simply had no need to engage in such thankless and arduous tasks.
The forces from the three parties chased one another and eventually met in front of a tall mountain.
The two Spirit Boats bore no identifying marks, and the cultivators standing on the decks, all dressed in black with masked faces and black kerchiefs, were clearly outfitted for robbery and looting.
Wang Banxia felt a sense of foreboding when he noticed the two Spirit Boats approaching and wanted to increase the speed of his own Spirit Boat to shake them off.
However, the quality of the Spirit Boats among the three groups was similar, and the Nascent Soul Cultivators from the other boats were interfering, further slowing down the Wanxiang Sect’s Spirit Boat.
"I wonder why you two seniors are so relentless in pursuit?" asked Wang Banxia with a tone of confusion.
"Don’t play dumb here, just give up and surrender peacefully, and you can spare yourself some suffering," was the reply.
"Submit to your fate quickly!"
The two Nascent Soul Cultivators called out in unison, sending a powerful intimidating force howling towards Wang Banxia and his companions.
Wang Banxia waited for a moment but didn’t see Elder Yuanzhong appear. His heart sank uncontrollably; his injuries were much more severe than he had imagined!
With a cold voice filled with feigned bravado, he threatened, "Don’t think that by concealing your identities, we don’t know who you are! Our Wanxiang Sect has Hidden Peak, which specializes in Heavenly Secrets and Fate. If you dare to attack us, you absolutely won’t escape death afterward!"
Upon hearing this, the faces of the two Nascent Soul Cultivators instantly turned as somber as still water. They hadn’t heard of such a lineage within the Wanxiang Sect, but on second thought, it wasn’t impossible!
For a moment, the thought of retreat crept into their minds.
If, after the fact, the Wanxiang Sect really divined their true identities, not only would they face death, but even their respective powers might not escape retribution.
Yet, to give up now felt regrettable.
"Fellow Daoist, what do you plan to do?"
The other Nascent Soul gritted his teeth and said, "We act together to subdue these disciples from the Wanxiang Sect, cripple their cultivation and limbs, and leave them in the forest to be devoured by wild beasts. We’ll divide the Spiritual Objects later, how about it?"
"Good!"
In the end, greed triumphed over fear.
Wang Banxia shuddered when he overheard their conversation; he had failed to intimidate them after all.
What he had said was true; the Wanxiang Sect did indeed have such an unspoken mountain peak internally, but divining the Heavenly Secrets came at a significant price, and he couldn’t guarantee that the Sect would do it for their sake.
Once the two Nascent Soul Cultivators made up their minds, they no longer hesitated. They cast spells to attack the Spirit Boat, although they moderated their offensive quite a bit.
This was because they were worried that too much power might kill some cultivators on the spot, providing the Wanxiang Sect with a clue to divine their identities afterward.
While they were engaged in fierce combat, Li Zhirui was flying towards the direction of the Wanxiang Sect.
